Secret Snapshots
by petrichorstarlight
Summary: Short glimpses into the private lives of our favorite mutants. Spans the whole of the movie-verse (not the comics, sorry—there's too many!). If you want a specific character, let me know! Main focus will be on X Men (2000), X Men: First Class, and X Men: Days of Future Past.
1. Chapter 1: Ororo

On rainy days, Ororo likes to slip out of the mansion alone. She finds a spot on top of one of the highest structures and lets the rain pour down upon her upturned face. During these times, she releases her tight hold on her powers, and whatever she's feeling at the time comes through in the weather. If she's having a good day, simple showers grace the school grounds. But if she's upset, the weather turns more hostile. Sadness turns rain into downpours. Anger makes clouds turn dark and brooding, twisted by strong winds, spitting out lightning and sometimes even hail. No one seems to know about Ororo's little habit, except maybe Charles. (It's hard to hide anything from a telepath.)

But if Charles knows, he never says anything to her about it. Ororo is eternally grateful for that. And if sometimes after a long, stormy night, a single sunflower is placed on her nightstand the next morning, well, she's not going to complain.

After all, everyone needs a little reminder sometimes that even after the worst storms, the sun will always shine again.


	2. Chapter 2: Erik

After being broken out of prison, Erik was nearly overwhelmed by his emotional reaction to being able to sense metal again. With a great deal of effort, he was able to hold himself together until he finally got some privacy for a short time before the second leg of their trip to the plane.

As soon as he was alone, Erik couldn't resist acting like a kid in a candy shop who had been deprived of sugar for ten years. He got nearly as hyper as his son as he ran around to every bit of metal in the vicinity, hugging and kissing and even—though he would never admit it—_giggling _as he wept with happiness. By the time they had to get back in the car, Erik had composed himself (on the outside, at least) and was as austere and fashionably-dressed as ever.

He never knew that Quicksilver had been watching the whole time, and the boy planned to keep it that way...though he could always use it as a blackmail bargaining chip if the need arose.


	3. Chapter 3: Logan

**This one's for MysteryGal5. :)**

James "Logan" Howlett is a man with many secrets. For him, that's the way it's always been, ever since he was a child. Since becoming friends with Professor Xavier and some of the other mutants (or at least as close as the Wolverine can ever get to friendship), he has found himself opening up a bit more about certain things.

But there's one secret that he will take with him to the grave. Not because it would compromise someone else or he promised to never tell, but because he wouldn't be able to stand the embarrassment and total destruction of his "wild rebel tough guy" reputation. Logan secretly has an obsession with the newest movie adaption of _Pride and Prejudice,_ starring Kiera Knightley. He could see in it the issues of pride and prejudice that were rampant in his own life—the pride that never stopped raging through his veins, such an integral part of his being that he would never overcome his instinctive prideful reactions to certain things, and the prejudice that ran rampant through society towards mutants and mutant rights supporters.

He also loves that soundtrack more than any other, and when he's alone he'll sometimes lose himself in its melodies as he plays on his battered and beloved violin (which he'll never admit he owns, much less can play). Logan always has been partial to the classical music styles.

The only one who ever found out about his secret loves (by complete accident, of course) is Marie, and her loyalty and love ensure that she'll never tell another soul.


	4. Chapter 4: Bobby

While he felt at home among the other mutants at Professor Xavier's School, Bobby had always felt torn about his life at the mansion. He had never quite been able to shake the guilt of hiding such a big secret from his family. But he needed to be there, and he loved his friends. There wasn't anywhere else he'd rather be. But he still couldn't quite get rid of that nagging unease.

After the whole fiasco with his brother calling the cops and his parents seeing Pyro go on the attack, Bobby wanted to stay and explain and try to set things right. But things were moving so fast, and the other mutants needed him—Rogue needed him. So he went. But when it was all over, once everyone was settled back into the mansion and things were getting back to normal, Bobby got permission from the Professor for him and Rogue to go visit his parents and try to come to an understanding.

He was worried about how it would go, but since everyone had had time to cool down and think about the whole situation more rationally, it wasn't as bad as he'd feared. Of course, his parents gave him a good lecture about trust and secrets and _WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU HIDE SOMETHING THAT BIG FROM US FOR GOODNESS SAKES BOBBY THIS DOESN'T JUST AFFECT YOU,_ and his brother was mad for his own reasons (though he would later grow more friendly towards Bobby again), but between his patient explanations and Rogue's polite southern charm, the whole thing was smoothed over pretty quickly.

"Have you ever tried...not being a mutant?" his mother had asked when she first found out. When Bobby and Rogue left for the school again, her fear and misunderstanding had turned into a fierce motherly pride in her son. She demanded that the two of them come back for the holidays, and even teared up a little as they boarded the bus that would take them to New York.

All in all, a successful mission.

**I hope you enjoyed this one! And to the lovely guest who reviewed this story the other day, yes! I'd be happy to do Charles. :) I just wanted to know if you wanted it more happy or ****angsty, or any specific things in it. Want to let me know in the comments?**


	5. Chapter 5: Charles

Charles knows he's supposed to be a responsible leader, and most of the time he is. He's there for everyone else, no matter what they need, and he honestly loves helping people. There are few things that make him feel better than when he's just succeeded in helping one of his friends and/or students learn something new or gain more control over their powers.

But he is, after all, still only a young man. A very young and very fun-loving one at that, despite what Raven would tell you about him being an old fuddy-duddy. At only 24 years old, it's not exactly fair to expect Charles to be perfect and mature all the time, is it? Other young men his age still go out and have adventures and parties—why should he have to forego all youthful enjoyment that his peers (however much less overwhelmed with responsibility they are)?

Charles is determined to have his fun, but as the leader and a role model for so many youngsters, he can't afford to be reckless. His school is so very young, after all, and he needs to make sure it has a remarkable and spotless reputation (untarnished by an immature professor). So he gets finds some rather clever ways to obtain his enjoyment.

What many people don't realize about Charles, especially due to how perfectly innocent he looks, is that he has a mischievous streak. And since he can't let it out through the ordinary ways (pranks are _not _to be encouraged in the school), he channels his brilliance and propensity for mischief the only way he can: through his power.

One day, Hank suddenly and inexplicably found himself compelled to spend an entire class period leading his chemistry students in a festive polka marathon. Hank didn't even _know_ how to polka until then.

The next week, Sean went to demonstrate his trademark screech for a group of new students—and promptly turned beet red with embarrassment. On the plus side, the students got a wonderfully fun introduction to the school. But poor Banshee never did figure out how he'd accidentally begun spewing accurate but somewhat unflattering descriptions of all the teachers. No one noticed Charles behind one of the bushes, shaking with silent laughter.

Little Amelia, who could control musical string instruments, was giving a demonstration of a lovely classical piece in the lounge, which was abruptly transformed into a rousing rendition of "In The Mood" and resulted in half the school throwing an impromptu swing dance party. She wasn't really bothered by it, but she wished she could figure out how her hands seemed to be moving on their own when she was clearly still in control.

Ice cream flavors changing, people pretending to be chickens, and odd impulses—all were lovingly instigated by the young professor. He loved the little pranks he was pulling—they were all harmless, after all, and people seemed to enjoy them. Of course, _someone _was bound to put the pieces together, and in the end it was Hank who confronted him.

But contrary to the reaction Charles had expected, Hank thought it was just as fun as Charles did (Hank was even younger than Charles, after all). He wanted a part in the action. Charles, of course, was overjoyed.

**I know this is longer than usual, but it just kind of took off once I started writing. I hope you liked the much-desired Charles chapter! I love him as a character, and I tried my best to do him justice. Thank you so much to my lovely guest and to MysteryGal5 for reviewing! The next one up will be Kitty Pryde, and then I'll get to the others you've asked for, okay? ;)**

**See you soon!**


	6. Chapter 6: Kitty

The other mutants accept Kitty, quirks and all, because she really is a great member of the team and a valuable friend. Plus her mutation makes her extremely useful.

As people get to know Kitty better, they can't really help liking her and getting attached to the young mutant. She's a very lovable person, despite all her little oddities. What they love most about Kitty Pryde, though, is how she has a habit of accidentally providing humor and entertainment just when they need it most.

The most memorable of these instances was right after a battle with (who else?) the Brotherhood one night. The X Men had just gotten back to the mansion, and after dumping their gear in the lower levels they'd all ended up crashing in the kitchen. A few (notably Logan, Scott, and Rogue) were invading the pantry, but the rest just made small talk about the battle or stared off into space. Finally Kitty had had enough.

Bored out of her mind, she gave up and jumped off of her stool in an exhausted daze. Declaring that she was going to bed, she headed for the wall—and promptly found herself flat on her back, blinking up in confusion at what had just happened.

There was a moment of stunned silence in the kitchen as everyone stared at Kitty in amazement. No one knew what to do. Then Logan's deep laughter suddenly echoed around the room, and suddenly all the mutants found themselves caught in the grip of an enormous laughing fit.

Of course, Kitty didn't find it very funny, and scowled at them all as she scrambled up off the floor and regally marched out the door instead. A few minutes later, she was asleep in bed, and she didn't wake up until two in the afternoon. Now that she was well-rested, her powers were functioning perfectly fine, _thank you very much._

But the other X Men, no matter how many years went by, never, ever let her forget the day that the infamous Kitty Pride ran into a wall.

**Sorry! I meant to post this ****yesterday, but I ended up being gone all day and didn't get a chance to type it up. I'm planning to get the next chapter up tomorrow, and I hope you enjoyed this one! :) Thanks to all my awesome guest reviewers for your awesome reviews! They make my day.**

**HelloILikeIt: Thank you so much for your suggestions and reviews! I'm so glad you're enjoying these, and I really, really hope I did okay with Kitty for you! :)**

**lol: Thank you! And yes, totally! How could anyone have Charles' powers and NOT take full advantage of them? I mean really. xD**

**Guest: Thanks! :) Nice to see you again. And I'll get to them soon, don't worry!**


	7. Chapter 7: Sean

Sean Cassidy's moment of greatness, according to Hank, was not when he'd succeeded in flying after being unceremoniously shoved off of the dish by Erik during training. Nor was it when he'd found Shaw's submarine using sonar. Nor when he'd saved a young runaway mutant's life by using sonic waves to shove a beam out of the way as it was falling on its way to crush her.

Not even his infamous squawk that he let out as he jumped from the first story window of Charles' mansion during his first flying attempt, though everyone thought that was hilarious. (Raven—he never would call her Mystique—in particular never let him live that undignified squawk down.)

No, Sean's moment of greatness came in a quiet moment during one of the movie nights at the school. They only had about ten students at the time, as it had very recently opened. After a quick debate with Hank and two of the students, Charles had made an executive decision and put on "Mysterious Island." After a bit of grumbling from a certain corner, everyone settled down with popcorn to watch the movie.

Charles watched the children, for the most part, not the movie. Hank ended up actually getting quite into the film, to his surprise, and Alex dozed off.. Sean, however, sat in the back of the room by the faint light coming from the hallway and lost himself in his secret hobby: drawing fantasy creatures. He especially loved drawing wood sprites, and that was what he set out to do that fateful evening.

The movie ended, but Sean wasn't paying attention. Alex, who had recently woken up, decided to take advantage of this and promptly crept around behind Sean. He hovered over Sean's back for a moment, dead silence reigning as everyone watching held their breath.

Then Alex pounced.

Sean's resulting shriek as he, his paper, and his drawing pencils flew into the air shattered the television and windows in a fittingly dramatic fashion. Everyone in the vicinity winced. The students learned that night three very important things:

1) Mr. Cassidy is called Banshee for a reason.

2) DO NOT, under any circumstances, startle Mr. Cassidy. Ever. It's not worth the shattered eardrums and broken glass cleanup.

3) If one of the teachers is hunting another one down, DO NOT get involved. Don't help, don't hinder, don't even watch. It's safer that way. Just let the vendetta run its course and everything will work out in the end.

(Note: Number 3 went on to become one of the first entries on the infamous welcome guide for new students, created by the veteran ones—more commonly known as the Unofficial Rules of Mutant High. This list has proved to be an invaluable resource over the years for incoming students who have no idea what kind of insanity they've signed themselves up for.)

**Hello again! Thank you very much to everyone who's reviewed, favorited, and followed this story! I'm so glad you're enjoying this. ^_^ I never expected this to take off so well. It started out as just a place for me to dump my little ****head cannons for some of the X Men, but thanks to your lovely support and suggestions it's become something so much better! :) Thank you for everything.**

**HelloILikeIt: Thank you! :) I'm glad you liked the Kitty chapter! I knew she was called Shadowcat and Sprite, but I never knew she was Ariel as well! That's neat, thanks for the tidbit. I wish they'd called her Shadowcat in the movies as well. :/ And don't worry, I have several more characters lined up for the coming days, but after that I'll definitely ask for suggestions! :D**

**MysteryGal5: I know, right? That's why I did it. I thought, what would be ridiculous and funny for Kitty to do? A lot of things weren't doable because she's already kind of crazy haha! But her being so tired and zoned out that she didn't phase just worked for me, so I wrote it. :)**

**inkblot: Thank you very much! I'm so glad you're liking these. I'll definitely keep going, don't worry. :)**

**Thank you all so much! See you soon. (I may not be able to update tomorrow due to a lot of events all day, but we'll see. If I can't, then the next part will be up Sunday instead.) **


	8. Chapter 8: Alex

Alex Summers, known as Havoc to many, was a very private man. On the outside, he always tried to keep up the suave, ladies-man, tough guy act. It was a safety mask built up from years of rejection, pain, and loneliness. But underneath it all, Alex was still young, and still very, very sensitive.

He loved little kids. He'd play with them all day if he could. If they wanted anything from him, they were going to get it. They always enjoyed playing with Alex. He was kind of the designated teacher/babysitter for the youngest ones at the mansion, always willing to get up in the middle of the night for hot chocolate or post-nightmare comforting. Charles and Hank secretly swapped stories sometimes about the cutest things they'd seen Alex doing with the kids—though they were careful not to be seen, because if Alex caught someone watching he'd quickly switch tasks and get more gruff.

After the war, Alex returned to the mansion fairly quickly, in time to help set it back up for the school to reopen. But like so many other young soldiers, he'd been changed by all the horrors he'd seen and lived through overseas in the war zone. Gone was the snarky, devil-may-care youth with the rough exterior. In his place was a hurting and shattered young man who was trying to come to terms with his new understanding of the human race. He and Charles had many late-night talks in order to help Alex reconcile the horrifically evil actions and twisted people he'd seen with the normal, everyday life of the many good citizens he was now encountering. While the talks did help him get the right perspective back, they did nothing to help his wounded soul. Charles didn't know how to pull Alex out of his aimless depression, short of invading his mind in an unthinkable broach of trust.

So Alex carried on, living day to day. He was stuck in gray, unable to move forward or backwards emotionally. When the school reopened its doors that fall, many of the children were new, though some of the one's he'd known returned for their last few years of schooling. They were alarmed at the changes they'd seen in their old friend and mentor, and quickly came up with a battle plan.

When Alex had a nightmare about the war and woke himself up by crying out in anguish, his children were the ones doing the comforting, no matter what time of the night. When he needed comfort, they brought him hot chocolate. When he was feeling isolated, they pulled him into their video games and pickup soccer matches. When he needed to be left alone, they gave him books so he wouldn't think about the past.

And slowly, ever so slowly, Alex Summers came back to life.

He began to smile. He made spaghetti. He started movie marathons and taught mechanics. The little kids began to swarm him, and he became their personal teddy bear and slave once more. By the end of that school year, Alex was happy, healthy, and living life to the fullest once more. He was older, and maybe a little wiser, and certainly a great deal more battle worn—"You think Juvy is bad? Try a war!" he would joke later on—but he was back to the same old Alex that he'd always been underneath. He didn't mind that he wasn't popular or prestigious and didn't have a nice car or a hot girlfriend. Not anymore.

After everything he had gone through, Alex was just happy to be happy.

**Hi everyone! Sorry I didn't get one up yesterday. After getting up at 4:20 AM and being at a swim meet (10 hours!) and then a family gathering, I just didn't have the mental energy. I hope you liked this one! I know it's a little darker than the rest, but I wanted to Alex's situation justice.**

**Thank you so much for all of you lovely reviewers! It makes my day to see your comments and everything. ;) Special thanks to HelloILikeIt, MysteryGal5, hippiechick2112, DaniNatureGirl313, and NotMarge (It's great to meet you!) for your awesome feedback and hilarious commentaries! It's all immensely appreciated and has been giving me a lot of smiles and laughs, which is awesome since I haven't been having the greatest time recently. I can't thank you all enough. :)**

**I'm going to let you choose: Do you want me to do Marie (Rogue) or Kurt (Nightcrawler) next?**

**See you tomorrow! **


	9. Chapter 9: Kurt

Kurt has always been a man of great faith. While he had never had anything even remotely resembling an easy life, Kurt didn't let that turn him bitter. His humble attitude and kind nature kept him pure and gained him many friends. Everyone loved him for his sincere goodness, from the babies to the adults. He saw people as beautiful and valuable, and behaved as such, treating them like they really _mattered._ That was something that everyone he encountered could never forget. (Of course, there was that incident with the president, but that has to be discounted as Kurt was not under his own influence at the time and therefore could not be blamed for what happened.)

But of course Kurt, like all people, was infinitely complex and had many different depths to his character. Kurt wasn't just kindness, faith, and optimism. He loved sausage, and apple pie, and coloring with crayons. He liked to go one-on-one sometimes with Logan to keep in shape; it was nice to have a challenging opponent, and even better to have one that he didn't have to worry about seriously injuring. Both men enjoyed the freedom of being able to not restrain their attacks for once. Kurt frequently listened to opera, but also to rock and roll. And, like Charles, he loved mischief.

Kurt is a teleporter as part of his powers. Most of the time he's careful about his teleporting, especially since he NEVER wants a repeat of the incidents in Switzerland or San Francisco. (He's never told a soul about those spectacular mess-ups. It's simply too traumatizing.) But when he's in a place he knows well and is sure to not get stuck in a structural fixture indefinitely, he has no qualms about popping around the area helter-skelter. This inevitably results in a great deal of really excellent pranks, fantastic midnight spooks, fast rescue endeavors, and also a rather impressive number of embarrassing accidents, usually involving catching couples unawares.

On one of these occasions, he'd teleported to the Danger Room in hopes of some peace and quiet in which he could read his German copy of _Hamlet._ Kurt blushed a dramatic shade of purple when he appeared right in front of Jean and Scott as they'd passionately kissed during a supposed "training session." Stammered apologies and embarrassed hand flapping ensued on all sides, and Kurt left as quickly as he could. The library seemed a much better option, really, with the comfy chairs and all that. What a good idea! Why hadn't he thought of that earlier? The library. Yes. Very good.

(The best accidental landing had involved the Professor, stuffed penguins, a paint gun, and superglue, but that's a story for another time.)

**So I ended up just doing Kurt because he was what worked today. (I hope I did him justice, NotMarge!) I really liked Danni's (Can I just call you Danni? Is that all right?) suggestion about combining the two, but I just couldn't get them to cooperate today. I'm going to try again later on, though! Don't worry. :) **

**Thank you all for your positive feedback about Alex's chapter! I'm glad it was okay. MysteryGal5, I know! I wanted Alex to have a softer side. He's a human. He's complex. He can't be all rough and tough and snarky, right? :) It makes me really happy to hear that you enjoyed the chapter so much! **

**HelloILikeIt: Yay! I'm glad you thought the last chapter was still good. As you can see, I did do Nightcrawler, though not the angle you suggested. That's because I'm planning to use it for his combo chapter with Rogue. I'm happy that you're happy haha! And don't worry about your time or anything, I'm just happy you liked it and grateful for the review, no matter when it came. ;)**

**Thank you all so much for the reviews again! You keep me going and make me smile. ^_^ Also, I'm also working on a ****surprise that I think you'll like. You'll find out what it is soon. See you tomorrow!**


	10. Chapter 10: Surprise!

**Hi guys!**

**i know I didn't post a chapter yesterday, and I still don't have one today. :( I'm terribly sorry about that! I ended up being crazy busy because I'd forgotten about two massive events I had scheduled (oops! o_O) and I didn't have the time or inspiration of write the next part. **

**HOWEVER.**

**Im going to tell you the surprise now because you deserve something at least. I know it's not a chapter and I'm sorry, but I'll definitely get one up tomorrow before 4 pm CST. :)**

**Anyway, the surprise is that I am making a fic for the Unofficial Rules of Mutant High! I'm making a poll about it as well, to see what form you want it to be. I'll have it open tomorrow when I post the next update for this. I've got some of the rules already and I promise you it's going to be good. I'm cracking myself up just coming up with these crazy things. **

**And be as always, If you have a suggestion feel free to let me know! :D**

**See you for real tomorrow!**


	11. Chapter 11: Jean

Jean Grey is known as a lovable, mature, empathetic, and talented woman.

Of course, everyone should know by now that the other mutants are always more than they seem.

If Jean had to list the things that no one knows about her, it would start out something like this:

1. Trained as a ballerina for 12 years, made it en pointe early and could have gone pro.

2. Also played hockey. Got suspended four times for beating up insulting boys.

3. Secretly messes up Logan and Ororo's paintball guns during the annual teachers' tournament.

...and continue on to something like...

217340917454137403792. Has never eaten Dippin' Dots before.

Of course, this is actually what Jean did last summer. Bored, hot, and angry at the world for no particular reason, she locked herself in her room and made an incredibly long list of all the ways people really didn't understand her at all.

And, as inevitably happens when you live in a mansion with other super powered people (many of whom are immature pricks or easily manipulated by the immature pricks) her list got found. While she was gone getting some food from the kitchen, Scott walked into her room to find it snowed under with pages and pages of numbered items. He picked one up and read a few lines before dropping it and sprinting off to find Ororo.

Ororo grabbed Logan, Logan asked Marie for help, Marie sent Kitty in to find a good one and Bobby to run interference with Jean, and after a mad scramble that nearly resulted in Scott getting turned into a kitten and the almost-explosion of the Professor's study, Kitty phased into the garage, hopped on a Harley, and hunted down Quicksilver.

Once the situation had been explained, Peter thought it was too good to refuse, and promptly did as he'd been asked. (Of course, it helped that he'd been promised a shopping spree at the largest Hostess store in the US, courtesy of Scott and Logan's combined funds).

Ten minutes later, Jean whipped around in her chair as the window banged open. She didn't see anyone (Peter was already long gone), but on the floor was a large container of rainbow-colored, tiny orbs. She was confused for a moment until she realized what had happened. Stalking over to the Dippin' Dots, she hollered mentally at the Professor, who hurriedly assured her he knew nothing about it. After a ten-minute-long rant to anyone within mental shouting distance about HOW DARE YOU ALL YOU STUPID COFFEE TABLES and INVASION OF MY PRIVACY I HATE YOU and NEVER GONNA TRUST ANY OF YOU AGAIN DON'T "YOU KNOW WE LOVE YOU JEAN" ME ORORO and the like, she finally wore herself out and flopped to the ground. After a moment's hesitation, Jean reached over and dug the plastic spoon into the container and shoved a spoonful angrily into her mouth. The Dippin' Dots were gone in five minutes, and Jean had forgiven the perpetrators after the first bite.

However, she never quite stopped worrying about what else they had seen—and Scott and Kitty never stopped daydreaming about the schemes they could get away with due to their new and excellent blackmail bargaining chips.

**Hi guys! I know this wasn't as good as usual. I'm having a hard time getting inspired today. Hope you got a little laugh out of it anyway!**

**The poll is now up on my profile, and for those of you who don't have an account (thank you HelloILikeIt for pointing this out to me!), my question is this: Do you want the fic to just be sets of rules, or would you like it to be one rule at a time and the story behind it, or would you like it to have all the rules and then I'll write all the stories behind them? Let me know in the reviews! :)**

**I'll hopefully get another chapter up tomorrow (though it'll probably be at a weird time since I have work from 2 to 9).**

**sifuXANA: Aww thank you! I'm glad you like these. ^_^**

**MysteryGal5: EXACTLY! I know, can you imagine being him and walking (teleporting) in on that? XD**

**HelloILikeIt: Please don't apologize! I love your reviews. :) (I wish I was British too :D) I agree that there has to be a better way than having a zillion different time zones... *sighs* I'm so happy that you liked the last chapter and the surprise! If you have any ideas, let me know. I always love your suggestions.**

**(Hopefully) See you all tomorrow! **


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